I met Suntai in hospital, says Taraba Acting Governor Umar

Taraba State Acting Governor Garba Umar has said Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai is still in the hospital, contrary to reports that he has been discharged and could walk to the hospital for check-ups.

Umar said he met his boss still on hospital bed. He was addressing reporters in Jalingo, the state capital, after his return from Hannover, Germany, to see the state of health of his boss.

The acting governor came back without a word from the ailing governor to the people of Taraba.

“I was in Germany to see my beloved boss. I met him. He told me his mind. His eyes were on me. I was with him. When he was to take tea (the weather was cold) I met with his wife and left. I came back to see him the following day.”

Fielding more questions from reporters on the governor’s state of health, Umar said: “The fact is, I met him in the hospital, but his condition has stabilised. It is what I saw that I can talk about.”

Asked if there was likelihood of him (Umar) becoming the substantive governor, he said: “An acting governor is the governor. When you are acting – like in my case – you are the governor. I have all the powers that the Constitution gives a governor. I prepared the 2013 budget and I am paying workers’ salaries. So, what power again? And it is the same government. The only difference is that the people are feeling the absence of my boss.”